A Case of Nodular Melanoma with a Family History of Difficult Clinical Diagnosis / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

Nodular melanoma is a malignant melanoma which presents as blackish-brown or colorless nodules. Nodular melanoma shows rapid growth compared to other melanoma subtypes, and often exhibits clinical features that do not correspond to the ABCD rules, which is key in differentiating melanoma. This makes nodular melanoma difficult to differentiate from the initially suspected melanoma. As such, diagnosis of nodular melanoma is commonly delayed, and is therefore often identified at an advanced stage. Here, we report a case of nodular melanoma in a young man with a family history of melanoma. We emphasize the importance of early diagnosis through biopsy for malignant melanoma, which is difficult to differentiate based on clinical features.